I grabbed my mate's hand and pulled her to the other side of my desk. I sat down in my chair and pulled her onto my lap, knowing full well that she was about to burst from anger or fear; I didn't know what. My whole body was tense while I waited for Vincent and the two men I set up with him to sit down in the chairs on the other side.

Vincent sighed and sat down in the chair right in the middle of the other seats. He crossed his leg over his other, his gaze never leaving my mate. He stayed silent, and I could tell that he wanted her to say something first.

Bethany Ann didn't say a word. Her gaze stayed on Vincent, and I had no idea what was going on through that mind of hers because her block was up, closing her thoughts from me.

Vincent growled and shifted in his seat. He narrowed his eyes at Bethany Ann, and all she did was raise an eyebrow. "Well?" he asked, his voice cold.

"Well..?" Bethany Ann inquired while she cocked her head and studied him further. "Well, what?"

"Where are they?"

"Safe," she replied. She shifted and got comfortable while she kept her gaze on him. "Safe from you, at least."

"Are they safe from you?" he asked, cocking his head. He studied her and sneered. "Or have you not told them?"

I furrowed my brows and cocked my head. Confusion filled my body, and I couldn't help but wonder what she was hiding, what she hadn't told us. "Told us what?" I asked and studied my mate.

Bethany Ann's face grew blank, and no emotion was shown on it. "It's not my fault," she said, not answering my question. "It is yours, and you know it."

"Oh, but you had a choice," Vincent said. He smirked and cocked his head. "However, you chose to stay with your mother. That is why they are dead."

"Did you really think that I would have gone with strange men?" Bethany Ann asked. She raised an eyebrow and set her jaw. "After I had been through what I had been through?" She gave him a pointed look and studied the male before her. She was composed while they talked, and I wondered what I was missing, what she hadn't put in her journal. "Do I need to go on, or do you know what I am talking about?"

Vincent shrugged. "That is up to you," he replied. "It just shows how stupid you are."

Bethany Ann chuckled, and a shiver went down my spine at how dark it sounded. "No," she replied. She cocked her head and studied him further, and I had a feeling that it made Vincent uncomfortable because he kept shifting in his seat. "It will just show how stupid you are."

Vincent chuckled. "Who do you think they will believe if the truth comes out?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He sneered, and I didn't have to look at my mate to know that she scowled. "Me or you?"

"Let me see..." Bethany Ann said. She cocked her head and tapped her chin, and I loved this sassy side of her because I never get to see it. "Oh," she said, lifting her finger from her chin. "That's right. Me. They will believe me."

"If I may ask, what are you two talking about?" I asked. I cocked my head and studied them. Warning bells went off in my mind, and I wondered if Bethany Ann felt as if it was her fault for her family's death, even though I had a feeling that it wasn't.

"Care to continue?" Vincent asked. He gestured for Bethany Ann to say something, but all she did was set her jaw hard enough that it started to shake. A sneer appeared on his face, and he cocked his head while he studied her. "No?" he asked in mocked shock. "But I thought you said that they were going to believe you."

Bethany Ann took a deep breath and let it out with a soft whoosh. Her whole body was tense, and she was shaking so slightly that I wouldn't have known it if it wasn't for the fact that she was in my lap.

"Beth?" I asked. I rubbed her back, and she leaned into my touch, seeking the comfort that I prayed I gave her. "It's ok," I said softly. "What is it? What is he talking about?"

Mike shifted in his seat and looked at Bethany Ann, concerned. Worry filled his eyes, and I wondered what he could see that I couldn't because he was facing her instead of me. 'Was this not in her journal?' he asked, looking at me and tearing his gaze away from her. 'She is very frightened about this, but she is trying to be strong.'

Subtly, I shook my head, no. 'This isn't in the journal,' I replied. 'I am as confused as you are.' I licked my lips and shifted, making sure to keep my mate in my arms. 'She is shaking.'

Mike kept his features leveled, and I had a feeling that he wanted to raise an eyebrow. 'She is?' he asked, and I subtly nodded. 'Huh. I wouldn't have noticed.' He studied her before he looked at me. 'I still don't notice her shaking.'

Vincent was enjoying this; I could tell. His smirk grew and grew, and it took all of my self-control not to leap over my desk and punch him or have the three that are with him punch him. "Well?" he asked and cocked his head. "Cat got your tongue?" He shook his head and tsked. "It's such a shame, really," he said. "I was going to let you explain yourself and, in the end, what led to your family's demise." He raised an eyebrow. "Shall I tell them or you?"

Bethany Ann scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You're a dick," she said, her voice shaking slightly.

Vincent sneered. "I've been called worse," he said. "Try again."

Bethany Ann set her jaw and cleared her throat. Her whole body was tense, but it still shook underneath my hand. "Vincent sent a car with two Rogues to collect me from school one day," she said. She cleared her throat again. "I told them to 'fuck off' and ran back into the school to get my mom to pick me up."

"If she had gone with them, then her poor family would still be alive," he said. He shook his head and tsked. "So in the end, it is her fault that they are dead and not mine. I warned her, but she didn't listen, and she paid the price with their blood on her hands."